Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Sony President and CEO, Kazuo Hirai, provides an update on the progress of its mid-range corporate plan covering the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016 ("FY2015") through the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018 ("FY2017"). Few image sensor-related points:

Sony announced a significant downward revision to its full year results forecast in FY2015 due to lower than expected sales in the core image sensor business, caused in particular by slowing growth within the smartphone market.

The rate of profit growth in this business is expected to continue to decline through FY2017.

Sony plans to take an approach to management that prioritizes speed of response to changes in the market environment, and focuses on Sony's areas of strength.

At the same time, in terms of image sensors for mobile products, while the smartphone market itself is slowing, the shift to dual-lens cameras and the requirement for higher pixel density is expected to lead to increased demand in the future. With its technological expertise in these areas, these could be favorable market trends for Sony. By taking advantage of these shifts in the business landscape and also by continuing its existing efforts to expand sales volume, Sony is aiming to revitalize the profitability of this business from the second half of FY2016 and into FY2017.

From a mid-to-long-term perspective, Sony continues to expect significant future growth for the image sensor-business. This business accordingly continues to be positioned as a growth driver.

In terms of new image sensor applications, Sony sees potential growth in surveillance cameras, as well as in factory automation, IoT (Internet of Things) including drones, and automotive applications. While it is expected to be some time before Sony's image sensor business for automotive applications is fully established, it is an area where Sony anticipates growth and is investing in R&D aggressively.